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Мы в СМИ08.11.2011 PRIME-TASS: FOCUS: Gazprom eyes entering European, Asian power markets, share seen not bigAs Russian gas giant Gazprom recently expressed its intention to enter international electric power markets, namely those of Europe and Asia, analysts say the expansion will allow the company to diversify its business, expand its gas sales channels, and increase the reliability of cash flows. Gazprom is interested in taking part mostly in gas power plant projects, but could participate in the development of renewable energy sources as well, analysts also say. However, they believe the gas giant is unlikely to gain a large share on foreign power markets and is expected to implement only separate projects. Gazprom has recently been trying to develop its electric power business managed by its 100% subsidiary Gazprom Energoholding and is now striving to enter international electric power markets. The company has long been showing interest in the European electric power market, holding talks with a number of European companies, including Germany’s E.ON and Italy’s Enel, which, however, had no success. Shortly after explosions at Japan’s Fukushima-1 nuclear plant in March, Gazprom said it was ready to invest in European power assets operating on gas, including in Germany, which announced plans to shut down its nuclear facilities by 2022. In mid-July, Gazprom and German power utility RWE signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic partnership in power generation in Europe, under which they plan to consider setting up a joint venture consisting of existing or newly-built gas and coal power plants in Germany, the U.K., and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). Analysts said then the move could be considered Gazprom’s first real step in entering the European electric power market and noted that the company was aiming to create a complete technological chain starting from gas exploration and ending with power production. The memorandum implied exclusive talks between the sides for three months, thus ending in mid-October, but the companies recently extended the talks until the end of this year. In mid-October, Gazprom also held talks with French companies Electricite de France (EDF) and GDF Suez over cooperating in implementing electric power projects in France. «The idea is to establish a model (of cooperation) with RWE and then see if we can reproduce it with other partners,» Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said then. Sergei Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund, believes that Gazprom could also be interested in taking part in power projects in Italy, where the cost of power is quite high, but noted that local companies were quite strong there. Gazprom could also expand to power projects in Eastern European countries. In early October, Gazprom discussed with the Romanian government implementing joint electric power projects in the country. The Turkish power market, where the price of power is among the highest in the world, could also be attractive to Gazprom, Pikin said. He added that Gazprom’s participation in European power projects depended on the projects’ efficiency. Konstantin Reyli, a senior analyst covering power utilities at investment company Metropol, believes that European companies, which are now trying to lower their dependence on Russian gas supplies, are not much interested in Gazprom entering the European power market, and recent searches at Gazprom offices could be a justification of this fact. «Either these are forced steps, or a tribute to political relations,» Reyli said commenting on European companies’ talks with Gazprom. Moreover, European countries are now actively developing renewable energy sources, the analyst said. Meanwhile, Pikin from the Energy Development Fund believes Gazprom could be involved not only in gas power generation in Europe, but in developing renewable energy sources as well. Gazprom recently filed a bid to the German antimonopoly service to buy a stake in German alternative energy supplier Envacom Service GmbH, which focuses on supplies of wind and solar power, the antitrust body said. The E.U. is currently aiming to increase the share of renewable energy sources, Pikin noted. Pikin also said that Europe currently required investments in its electric power industry development. However, there are political risks that the entrance of Gazprom Energoholding could be considered as Gazprom strengthening its role in Europe, the expert said. Besides plans to participate in power projects in Europe, Gazprom has also announced its intention to expand into Asian power markets. Denis Fyodorov, CEO of Gazprom Energoholding, said in October that the company’s interest in power markets of Asian countries was connected with Gazprom starting gas supplies to these countries. «If we supply gas to China, it will be interesting for us to build a chain to consumers,» said Fyodorov. The company is likely to require at least one year to choose the first projects in Asia, he added. Russia and China are now close to completing their talks over Russian gas supplies to China, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said recently. However, the surveyed analysts doubt that Gazprom will take part in building power plants in China. Power generation in China is developed quite well, there are many facilities operating on coal and many hydropower facilities, said Reyli from Metropol. China is itself active in electric power development, and power engineering in China is developed better than in Russia, according to Pikin from the Energy Development Fund. Gazprom also recently said it was considering taking part in electric power projects in Japan and has discussed the issue with a number of Japanese companies, namely Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). «Gazprom’s interest in Japan is caused by cataclysms that led to an accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear plant and disruptions in operations of the country’s other nuclear plants,» said Reyli from Metropol. The volume of nuclear power facilities is expected to be reducing in Japan, and it will be necessary to substitute those capacities with other energy sources like renewable energy sources and partially gas power generation facilities, he said. Pikin from the Energy Development Fund believes Gazprom’s interest in the Japanese power market is quite logical. «Japan is an attractive market for Gazprom taking into account the winding down of nuclear power in the country,» he said. There are not many other energy resources in Japan, for instance, coal resources are not big, so Gazprom could take part in building gas power plants in Japan, Pikin said. Japan is believed to hold the fourth place in the world in terms of electric power consumption, but has almost no energy resources of its own. Japan imports 100% of the gas it consumes in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), making it the world’s largest LNG importer. The supervisory board of the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project, in which Gazprom holds 50%, recently approved an agreement on LNG supplies to TEPCO. Japan is an additional sales market for Gazprom, Reyli from Metropol said. The surveyed analysts believe it is easier for Gazprom to buy stakes in existing foreign power facilities rather than building power plants. «At the initial stage, buying power assets in Europe is the quickest process of entering the market,» said Pikin from the Energy Development Fund. It is easier to set up some joint ventures to enter foreign markets, he said. Reyli from Metropol agreed it was more comfortable for Gazprom to buy existing electric power assets and carry out small modernization at them rather than to build facilities. Analysts believe Gazprom’s intention to enter international electric power markets is quite logical. Gazprom has experience and resources for expanding its presence on the power market, said Pikin from the Energy Development Fund. Gazprom buying electric power facilities abroad is connected with gas sales markets, as the company is interested mainly in selling its gas, said Reyli from Metropol. «Expanding to international power markets will also allow Gazprom to diversify its activity and increase the stability of cash flows,» the analyst said. However, the surveyed analysts do not expect Gazprom to gain a large share on foreign power markets and say the gas giant is likely to implement only separate projects. The European electric power market was long ago divided among participants, said Reyli from Metropol. The situation on Asian markets is developing more dynamically, and if Gazprom manages to offer some interesting conditions, it will be able to enter these markets, but is unlikely to obtain a large market share, the analyst said. Moreover, Gazprom faces serious competition in expanding into international power markets from Russian power holding Inter RAO UES and hydropower company RusHydro, Reyli said. |
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